Many cosmetic formulations include plant extracts or preparations from one or more plants to achieve a particularly desirable result. Typically, plants used in such formulations are those with known medicinal value. For example, chamomile extracts are frequently used to reduce inflammation, aloe vera extracts are used to relieve skin irritations, and calendula extracts are often used as antiseptic.
Remarkably, most non-medicinal plants, and especially plants that are normally used for food or beverage preparation are commonly absent in cosmetic formulations, and the most notable uses of non-medicinal edible plants in cosmetics includes cucumber for masks, and almonds and apricots for skin peels. In another example, as described in U.S. Pat. App. No. 2004054534, extracts of roasted and unroasted decaffeinated coffee beans are topically used to treat greasy skin. While such extracts are reported to normalize sebaceous gland activity to at least some degree, various disadvantages nevertheless remain. Among other things, and depending on the particular formulation, chemical stability of such extracts may be less than desirable. Alternatively, as taught in U.S. Pat. App. No. 20020187239 and WO 2002062159, the inventors describe use of a plant waste product (e.g., use of coffee cherry pulp from coffee production) as a base material for preparation of a plant extract. However, coffee production typically demands harvest of ripe coffee cherries, which are known to have a substantial level of microbial growth. Consequently, the waste material (i.e. the pulp) is almost invariably and highly contaminated with various mycotoxins and must therefore be detoxified prior to use.
Therefore, while there are numerous cosmetic formulations are known in the art, all or almost all of them suffer from one or more disadvantages, especially where such formulations include a portion of a coffee plant. Consequently, there is still a need to provide improved cosmetic compositions and methods.